South China Sea dispute between China, Philippines heads to court

AMSTERDAM, July 7 (Reuters) - The Philippines argued at a
closed hearing on Tuesday that an international court should
intervene in its dispute with China over the right to exploit
natural resources and fish in the South China Sea.

Though China has declined to participate, the case at the
Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is being closely
watched by Asian governments and Washington, given rising
regional tensions as Chinese naval power grows.

A panel of five judges will hear arguments this week and
decide whether the treaty-based court has jurisdiction.

Manila filed suit at the court in 2013, seeking to enforce
its right to exploit waters in a 200-nautical mile "exclusive
economic zone" off its coast, as defined under the U.N.
Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Philippines argues that the arbitration court is the
correct venue for resolving disputes covered by the treaty,
which both countries have signed. "The Philippines believes the
court has jurisdiction over all the claims it has made," said
lawyer Paul Reichler, representing the Philippines.

He said he is "confident" the court will ultimately rule in
the Philippines' favour.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China
doesn't accept the court's jurisdiction and will not
participate. "China opposes any form of arbitration process
proposed and promoted by the Philippines," Hua told a daily news
briefing in Beijing.

In a position paper in December, China argued the dispute is
not covered by the treaty because it is ultimately a matter of
sovereignty, not exploitation rights.

China has laid a stake to nearly all of the South China Sea,
while the Philippines and Vietnam, along with Malaysia, Taiwan
and Brunei, claim overlapping parts of it.

Manila says China is unfairly preventing it from accessing
reefs and shoals that are under its dominion.

Philippines lawyer Reichler said the case can continue even
if China declines to participate. The court's rulings are
binding, though it has no power to enforce them and countries
have ignored them in the past.

Reichler declined to discuss the details of the Philippines'
arguments on Tuesday, saying doing so might aggravate judges.

Court legal counsel Judith Levine said the court would not
comment on the proceedings beyond a brief statement saying
proceedings had begun.

Reichler expects a decision on jurisdiction within 90 days.
A ruling on the merits of the case could take years.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Manuel
Mogato in Manila; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)